The girl stood with downcast eyes.  Once more her face had suffered a change; the lips were no longer malignant, her forehead had relaxed from its haughty frown.  The past fortnight had been a period of contest between her father’s stubborn fears and her own determination to change the mode of her life.  Her self-will was only intensified by opposition.  John had often enough experienced this, but hitherto the points at issue had been trifles, matters in which the father could yield for the sake of pleasing his child.  Serious resistance brought out for the first time all the selfish forces of her nature.  She was prepared to go all lengths rather than submit, now the question of her liberty had once been broached.  Already there was a plan in her mind for quitting home, regardless of all the misery she would cause, reckless of what future might be in store for herself.  But the first sign of yielding on her father’s part touched the gentler elements of her nature.  Thus was she constituted; merciless in egotism when put to the use of all her weapons, moved to warmest gratitude as soon as concession was made to her.  To be on ill terms with her father had caused her pain, the only effect of which, however, was to heighten the sullen impracticability of her temper.  At the first glimpse of relief from overstrained emotions, she desired that all angry feeling should be at an end.  Having gained her point, she could once more be the affectionately wilful girl whose love was the first necessity of John Hewett’s existence.

‘Well,’ John pursued, reading her features eagerly, ’I’ll say no more about that, and I won’t stand in the way of what you’ve set your mind on.  But understand, Clara, my girl!  It’s because Sidney persuaded me.  Sidney answers for it, mind you that!’

His voice trembled, and he looked at the young man with something like anger in his eyes.

‘I’m willing to do that, Mr. Hewett,’ said Kirkwood in a low but firm voice, his eyes turned away from Clara.  ’No human being can answer for another in the real meaning of the word; but I take upon myself to say that Clara will bring you no sorrow.  She hears me say it.  They’re not the kind of words that a man speaks without thought of what they mean.’

Clara had seated herself by the table, and was moving a finger along the pattern of the dirty white cloth.  She bit her under-lip in the manner already described, seemingly her habit when she wished to avoid any marked expression of countenance.

‘I can’t see what Mr. Kirkwood’s got to do with it at all,’ she said, with indifference, which now, however, was rather good-humoured than the reverse.  ’I’m sure I don’t want anybody to answer for me.’  A slight toss of the head.  ’You’d have let me go in any case, father; so I don’t see you need bring Mr. Kirkwood’s name in.’